Undergsound trolley system



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

L. E. WALKINS.

UNDERGROUND TROLLEY SYSTEM.

N0.,595,224'. Patented De0.7, 1897.

UNlTh STATES PATENT FFlCE.

LOUIS E. lVALKINS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO FRED O. YVRIGHT, OF SAME PLACE.

UNDERGROUND-TROLLEY SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,224, dated December '7, 1897.

Application filed May 1'7, 1897. Serial No. 636,869. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS E. "WALKINS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Underground-Trolley Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to underground-trolley systems for electric railroads, and has for its object the construction of such a system as shall insure the proper insulation of the trolley rails or supports, improvements in the trolley-carriages, whereby perfect and continuous contact with the rails is assured, and a complete separation of the trolley-rails and the feed and return wires leading from and to the power-station, whereby short-circuiting through a flooding of the conduit or otherwise is guarded against; and the invention consists in the construction of the system as hereinafter set forth in the annexed specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a longitudinal centralsection through the conduit, with aportion of one of the guard-plates broken away and showing the axles of a car and trolley-arms connected thereto. Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective View of the trolley-carriage.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the transversely-located rail and conduit-supporting frames, made, preferably,0f cast-steel and bolted together at as, Fig. 2. These are supported on suitable foundations in the usual manner.

The conduit-shell B, also preferably of caststeel, made in convenient lengths, is placed in the frames A and has a longitudinal rib a, cast on the sides thereof, bearing on the upper inner edge of said frame, all as shown in said Fig. 2. Said conduit-shell B is lined with any one of the well-known insulating materials, (represented by 0,) which is moldedinto said conduit-shell in such form as to produce therein three continuous longitudinal troughs or compartments, one in the center, in which the trolley carriage runs, and. one on each side of the center, in which are located the line-wires'P and N,extending from the power station to the end of the road operated from that station and back again, the line P representing the feed-wire, and N the return-wire. These wires are tapped at proper intervals by connecting-wires 5, extending from the line P to the rails 3 and 3, and by wires 5, extending from the rails 4 and 4a to the returnline N. The metal rails 3 and at are supported on the partitions O and O of the insulatinglining O, which are continuous and divide, as stated, the conduit into three separated troughs 0r compartments.

Means for closing the top of the conduit shell B consist of the plates D D, preferably cast-steel. These plates are trouglrshaped, as shown in cross-section, and substantially under the center thereof and longitudinally disposed are the webs D D at right angles to the bottom of said plates D. These webs are broadened on their lower edges to afford a secure footing on the top of the partitions G and O Suitable braces d are cast onto said webs D D and the bottom of the plates D. The depth of the troughs cast in the top of these plates D D may be varied according to the kind of paving they may be designed to receive. These plates are bolted to the edges of the conduit-shell B, a shoulder?) being cast in the latter for the support of their outer edges. The inner edges of said plates are left suificiently separated to permit the passage through the slot thus formed of connecting-arms E or trolley-arms leading from the two axles of the car to which they are connected to a trolley-carriage which runs .011 the rails 3 S and at 4. A guard-plate F, of insulating material, is secured to the under side of said plates D D and extends thence downward in a plane with the side of said inner contiguous edges of the said plates D D, thus forming a continuation of said slot or passage between said plates. In that portion of these guard-plates F which is secured to the bottom of the plates D D the rails 3 and l are located vertically over the rails 3 and 4 and parallel therewith and are connected with the feed line-wires P and the return line-wires N in the same manner as their opposites 3 and 4. Thus 3 and 3 are connected to I, and 4 l are connected to N, the wheels 8 of the trolleycarriage bearing on the rails 3 and 4. and the wheels 10 bearing on the spring-arms 9 on the rails 8 and 4. Said trolley-carriage consists of two rectangular frames 7 7 a of like dimensions bolted to opposite sides of a block 6 of insulating material, to the bottom of which is'secured a weight of such size as will insure a smooth running contact of the wheels 8 with the rails 3 and 4, said wheels 8 being mounted on the four corners of the frames 7 7 The wheels lO-above referred to are mounted on the ends of the arms 9, pivotally secured to the upper edges of the said frames of the carriage, and are spring-pressed upward in firm contact with the under side of the rails 3 4 by a suitable spring 12.

As hereinafter stated, the trolley-carriage is connected to the car on the rails 2 above by means of the trolley-arms E, connected located,whereby the draft on the said carriage is always-a yielding one when it is being drawn forward by the movement of the car.

Properly-insulated wires P and N are attached to the two side frames 7 and 7, the wire P carrying the current from the linewire P to the motor and the wire N conducting the current from the motor to the returnwire N. In the drawings each of the trolleyarms E is provided with the above-named wires, it being assumed that there is a motor connected to each of the axles of the car shown in Fig. 1. In case a single motor is used the two arms E would still be required in order to obtain the best contact of the trolley-carriage with its rails; but only one of them would then carry the wires P N.

From the above description it is seen that the only connection between the rails 3 3 and 4 t is through the trolley-carriage frame on one side, the wire connection therefrom to the trolley-arm and thence to the motor, through the latter, then down the other wire connection thereon to the side frame on the other side of the carriage, thence to the opposite line-wire, and back to the power-station. A direct metallic connection is thus established Without charging the track on which the cars run, and the two line-wires are in separated insulated compartments and into which no water can enter which comes through the trolley-arm slot between the top plates D D, as the guard-plates F extend down far enough below the tops of the partitions 0 C to prevent it, and the rails 3 3 4 4, being located on the tops of said partitions G 0 are'also protected by the guardplates F, as stated.

Each of the compartments in the conduitshell B is provided with drainage-outlets T. Suitable openings 0 are made in the webs D D of the plates D, which serve as means I for lightening, the weight of said webs, as

well as convenient means for affording access to the rails 3 and 4 and 3 and 4 for the purpose of making the proper connections thereto with the wires 5 5.

Of course the connections 5 between the line-wire P and the rail 3 and between the rails at and the line-wire N are not essential to the proper operation of the system herein described, but are made solely for the purpose of insuring a more perfect and continuous supply of current to the motor.

The connections to the opposite poles of the motor are not indicated on the drawings, and in Fig. 3 the wires P and N are shown disconnected from the side frames 7 7 for the sake of clearness.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An undergroLind-trolley system for electric railroads comprising a conduit, suitable frames for supporting said conduit, rails sup ported on said frames,a cover for said conduit secured to the edges thereof and having a continuous longitudinally-central slot therein, an insulating material for lining said conduit and for forming longitudinal partitions therein, supports for said cover between the top of said partitions and said cover, guardplates of insulating material extending from the under side of said cover near opposite edges of said slot, downward, to a point beyond the upper edge of said partitions, in-

sulated trolley-rails on said partitions and the under side of said cover, a trolley-carriage for said rails having trolley-arms eX- tending therefrom upward through the said slot in the cover for connection with a motor of an electric car, line-wires in separate com partments of said conduit, and connections from said line-wires to the trolley-rails on one of said partitions and from said trolley-carriage to a motor and return, and from said trolley-carriage to the rails 011 the other of said partitions, substantially as described.

2. An underground-trolley system for elec connection between said line-wire I, and the rails 011 one of said partitions, and a metal connection between the line-wire N, and the rails, on the other of said partitions, a trolleycarriage running on said rails and electric connection from said rails on one of said partitions through part of said trolley-carriage to a motor of an electric car, and from said motor through a part of said carriage to the rails on the other of said partitions, and a suitable track and car therefor, substantially as described.

3. An underground trolley system for electric railroads consisting of a suitably-supported conduit having three insulated longitudinal compartments therein, a cover for said conduit secured to the edges thereof, the insulated partitions between said compartment-s for supporting said cover, a longitudinal slot in said cover centrally over the middle one of said compartments, a trolley-carriage in the latter supported on rails located on the upper edges of said partitions, an insulated trolley-arm on said carriage extending upward through said slot, guard-plates secured to said cover and extending downward into said middle compartment, a line-wire P, in one of the side compartments in said conduit, and a line-wire N, in the other of said side compartments, electric connections from said lines P and N, to the said trolley-rails, and an electric connection from the rails on one of said partitions to the rails on the other, through the trolley-carriage and an electric motor with which said trolley-carriage may be connected in combination with an electric car and a suitable track therefor, substantially as described.

4:. An underground-trolley system for electric railroads consisting of a conduit divided into three compartments by two longitudinally-disposed partitions, suitable insulation for the interior of said conduit and partitions, a cover for said conduit having a slot therein centrally located over the central one of said compartments, a trolley-carriage located in said compartment, supports for said carriage consisting of two lower and two upper rails, the former on said partitions, the latter on said cover and vertically over said lower rails, wheels on said carriage engaging the lower rails, and wheels on upwardly-spring-pressed arms pivoted on said carriage engaging the upper rails whereby a yielding contact between said trolley-wheels and said rails is maintained, a line-wire in each of the side compartments of said conduit, and electric connections between one of said wires and one set of said upper and lower rails through said carriage and through an electric motor to which it is connected, and back through said carriage to the other set of said upper and lower rails, and from thence to the other of said line-wires, combined with a track and car therefor, substantially as described.

LOUIS E. WALKINS.

Witnesses:

H. A. CHAPIN, K. I, OLEMoNs. 

